Tag: London

The West End, London


There are a couple of places in the world where theatre is one of the main attractions. Of course, many Americans know of the appeal of Broadway in New York, but even before that became the gold standard, there was the West End in London. It has been producing some of the highest quality English speaking plays, and musicals dating all the way back to 1806. Many of the productions bring in the best of the stage and screen, and people travel from all over the world to see a production here. It is a big part of what makes London the city it is.


You know you are in London when you travel on the tube, and every time you get off a train, you see poster after poster promoting a production that is now showing in the West End. This includes classic stories from Shakespeare, some of the bigger musical productions that have toured around the world such as Wicked and Les Miserables, and some movies that have been turned into new musical productions such as Clueless and Mean Girls. There is always something to see there, and some of the biggest productions happen in the neighborhood known as the West End.

The West End is a quaint little neighborhood filled with great restaurant, interesting stores, and of course theaters. It is nestled right next to London’s Chinatown, and there is so much to see just wandering up and down the streets. I enjoyed seeing what Chinatown had to offer, and it also boasts one of the biggest bookstores I have ever been in, Foyles.

The streets also hold their own charm. You can take a quick turn, and can easily find a street that would only be comfortable in the confines of London. If you can find it, Craven Street has been the inspiration for many locations in great British writers’ works. Supposedly down the street is where Charles Dickens came across a knocker that inspired him to impose the face of Marley on it for his Christmas Carol. It is also the street that inspired J.K. Rowling to come up with Knockturn Alley from her Hairy Potter series. It is a little hidden, and not many people find it, so if you can, it will be like you are on the street on your own.

But if Craven Street is not enough Harry Potter for you, there is always the London production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the eighth story in the series, and a two part play. It is only in London where they perform the complete play. Everywhere else, it is a condensed version of the story. You can watch this play in two different ways, either break it up in two nights, or watch the first part in a matinee, and the second part three hours later. I would recommend seeing the play in one day. It is a long day, but the time just flies by and there is enough to do in the neighborhood during the break to make the day one that you will never forget.

Whether you go to see one of the big plays playing out in London, or just wandering the neighborhood, the West End is a great place to visit when traveling to this city. It is also a place that will be different every time you visit because there will always be something new to see. I enjoyed my time out here, and I can’t wait until I can come back and see the next performance on one of their stages.

London Calling


The first big trip that I took out of the United States was almost twenty years ago. Christine and I flew over to Europe with backpacks and spent fifty days traveling through ten different countries. It was when I first really caught the traveling bug, and I have recently reached my fiftieth country in the last year. But there was always something about the first place that I landed in. It was the first time that I had to navigate a completely different culture while I marveled at the new places that I was seeing. I was spoiled a little bit because the first of the big cities that I traveled to was London, and the place is so packed with so many different things to see that I instantly got that cultural experience that I was looking for. I was able to see the Tower of London, attend a Shakespeare show in the Globe Theatre, wander through the London Library, and do the tours at St. Paul’s Cathedral. I have kept those early memories of the start of this trip with me ever since, and it was because of these memories that when I was looking for a place to travel to over a long weekend, and saw affordable tickets to London that I had to make the effort to get back to this city that I have enjoyed so many years ago.


I did answer London’s call, but I did not rush to repeat the same things that I enjoyed the previous time around. First of all, we came out in the middle of the Winter when clouds and rainy cold grip the city, so I would not be spending as much time outside checking out all of the sights. Secondly, I now know people who call London their home, so there was time spent catching up with people I have not seen for so many years. This meant that we were not going to go to the big tourist spots all of the time, but instead, we would go to those hidden gems that the locals go to all of the time. One of these was the Beer Mile. This is a series of micro-breweries that are set up in old warehouses underneath one of the train lines. It is a great place to enjoy one craft beer after another as you walk from one small brewpub to another. It also holds the charm of the train rumbling overhead every few minutes because of its location underneath the tracks.


Of course, there were other things that we needed to check out that we missed the first time around. One of these was visiting the British Museum. The nicest thing about visiting London is that all of the museums are free to enter, and there is a big collection of amazing things to be found at these places. The Brits have has a long history of taking the treasures from many places around the world and putting them on display in their museum. Now, I know that there is a pretty bog controversy surrounding this idea, but it is still pretty cool to see what is collected in this big building. We spent a couple of hours there and were only able to really view the collection Assyria, and Ancient Egypt. There was still so much to see in the place, and I might have to hear London’s call again someday to see what else I have missed in this building.


A place that attracted more tourists then the British Museum was the Borough Market. This is an outdoor food market that gives visitors numerous options of food and drink. You can find the typical British options such as meat pies and fish and chips, but there are many other choices out there as well. Dishes varied from paella, risotto, and bao, with drink options including beer, wine, and cider. We were able to enjoy a hot cider while there, but they were serving up mulled wine as well to warm up the people as they strolled through the market. I was amazed at how packed it was on a cold February day. I could not imagine what the place would be like during the Summer months, so I was glad that I got to experience it when I did. I think if it was any more crowded I wouldn’t have wanted to visited it in the first place.


Overall, it has ben nice to come back to this place I have visited so many years ago. I have enjoyed looking for different corners that I wasn’t able to explore the last time I was out here. I don’t know when I will be able to come back again, or if I ever will, but in the meantime, I will just collect more memories of this place, so I can answer the call when it comes again someday.